Kansas Kisses
by Angkeats
Summary: From Haily: Troy Bolton is a humble country music star from Kansas, new to the scene...Gabriella is a seasoned hip-hop star who has seen it all...tonight they meet at the 'World Music Awards' and sparks fly...
1. Kansas Kisses

The sypnosis from Love is 130:

She was the daring naughty girl of the music world; he was the new country music heartthrob. Humbled from a childhood in the ranches of Kansas, his accent, sparkling eyes, and an incredible way of speaking to women through his music, he had hit it big this year. Her story came from a battle with drugs, rebellion, and a broken family. At sixteen, she had informed her mother of her desires to be in the music industry, sent tapes to the leading hip hop recording labels and moved to New York. Since then, she had been blowing away every critic with her style and music choices. Tonight, for the first time, they would meet in the highest of award shows, and on a spontaneous note, she decides to show him exactly why she is known as the most daring entertainer, in front of the whole world.

Thanks Haily!

**Kansas Kisses**

"Oh, I'm sorry," Troy 'Kansas' Bolton immediately turned toward the person he had just inadvertently jabbed with his elbow while collecting his knife and fork for his canteen dinner.

A canteen dinner supplied by the 'World Music Awards' show before he had to go on stage and sing, he recounted to himself as he felt the tell-tale nerves creep up in his tummy once more.

But before he had a chance to drown in the moment, a voice broke into his thoughts.

"You will be," twinkled the petite dark-haired Latina at his side. Her eyes were looking directly into his with her teasing threat and he squinted at her tone.

"Ah…I truly am sorry," he repeated with a sheepish blush. His mother had taught him manners, how to treat a lady and back home in Kansas, he wouldn't have expected this reaction from a beautiful bare-faced woman such as the one before him.

Only he wasn't in Kansas anymore, he mused. This was New York. Music capital of the world, and the girl smiling at him had him bemused.

"Wow, you don't get out much do you?" She observed, bemusing him further as he drew back his head in shock.

"I guess not," he drawled, tipping his face down so that his Stetson covered his eyes. "I'm sorry if I hurt you ma'am," he added as he turned to go.

"Hey, cowboy," the voice of the small beauty called him back and he twisted, his shoulders hunched against her next remark. "You have beautiful eyes."

Troy sat with his tray of food and puzzled over the statement from the dark-eyed, dark haired enigma. He'd seen Mexicans, Indians, all races in his line of work but never a woman like her- all curves and tiny temptation. Her hair was long, dark, and wavy over her shoulders. Her eyes feline and wide, and so brown he had wondered where they ended. And yet bare of any make-up, void of any costume, he didn't recognise her.

"It's rude to walk away when a girl is speaking to you," a tray slapped down in front of him and the small bundle of hair and eyes scraped up a chair opposite him.

Troy looked up under the rim of his hat and pressed his lips together. "Do I know you?" He asked instead.

"Not that I know of," she smiled secretly to herself. "But I know all about you, Kansas," she added.

"Do you have a name?" He enquired.

She met his eyes as her lips curved up devilishly. "Gabriella Montez."

He nodded as he took a mouthful of food. "Well it's my pleasure to meet you, Miss Montez," he held his hand across the table for her to shake.

"What, no kiss?" She arched her brow knowingly and he couldn't help but smile self-depreciatively.

He was well known in the press as 'Kansas Kisses' because he made a point of kissing every lady he met. In recognition of her jibe, he turned her hand and kissed her knuckles, something that apparently caught her off guard because she gasped and retracted her hand.

"I guess you're not used to that," he smirked.

"You're the new heart-throb round here," she commented, leaving him nervous as to where she was going with her conversation. "I've been in this business since I left high school- believe me, the gimmicks soon wear off."

"You're in the business?" He was surprised. She didn't look like she was. Her eyes were bright and her skin healthy and she just glowed with something inexplicable. He couldn't see how she could have survived in the music business since she was a teenager and still come out looking so normal.

"Uh-huh," she nodded, dropping her gaze to her food. "Believe me, I've seen it all, been through it all…"

"You sound jaded," he observed with interest.

Again those dark eyes pinned him. "It's not pretty."

"Life never is," he lifted a brow, and then let a small smile creep out. "So, tell me, who are you?"

"You'll see," she smiled that feline smile again. "I don't want to ruin the surprise."

"Come on," he goaded. "Not one clue?"

She shrugged. "No-one ever recognises me when I'm like this."

Her words were factual but the emptiness in her eyes told him so much more and then he realised, she wasn't as innocent and unaffected as he first thought.

"Well you're beautiful," he drawled shyly, giving a one sided smile. "A real natural."

Gabriella let her gaze meet his for a few seconds before she dropped it again.

"Well you _are _the charmer," she teased him some more. "I've heard _'Make me…'_," she referred to his latest single.

He rolled his eyes at her and lifted off his hat, running a self-conscious hand through his no doubtedly hat-messed hair.

"I don't know why everyone's gotta say that," he sighed gently.

"Oh, come on, you must love it really?" She prompted.

"Being known as a heart throb?" He asked himself, and then winced. "I don't know…"

"Oh my god," she frowned with a bemused smile. "You really don't get it do you?"

"Get what?"

"You really don't think you're sexy," she marvelled.

"Ah, well…" he blushed again as his southern roots came back to bite him in the ass. Of course he wasn't sexy; he was just Troy, the horse handler. The farm hand. The country singer who found fame by accident not by choice and who now found himself overwhelmed with the level of female attention his job brought with it.

"We should do a duet." She decided suddenly, folding her arms.

"Huh?"

"A duet," she repeated. "I'm hip-hop raw sound, you're country and…old," she grinned to alleviate her inadvertent insult. "We should mix the two and see what happens…"

"Mix hip-hop and country?" He questioned disbelievingly.

"Oh my gosh, it would _so _work," she chatted animatedly, gesturing her hands as she went. "Your song, _Make me_, would sound awesome in a mix."

"It's a love song," he pointed out flatly, not sure about her sudden idea to mix their genres.

"So what?" She shrugged. "It's raw enough to work."

He watched as she began to rap a verse of his heart-felt ballad, then used his chorus in an urban arrangement.

"_#Make me...uh uh...make me a better man_

_Oh, girl I wanna be with you every day_

_You make me wanna say in every way_

_Just what, uh, you do to me, yeah_

_Make me; make me a better man…#"_

"Wow," Troy sat back, his mouth open and his brows high.

"Oh god, I'm sorry," Gabriella winced. "I have a real bad habit of doing that."

It was the first time he had seen her vulnerability and he softened his face into a smile.

"I kinda liked it."

"You did?" She darted her eyes up.

"Yeah," he nodded. "I just never heard my words sung by anyone else before, that's all…"

"Well, they're nice words," she complimented with a direct look and a flirty smile.

"Thank you," he couldn't peel his gaze away from hers if he tried but somehow his intended words came out by themselves for which he was internally thankful.

"Mm, well I have to go," Gabriella finished her last mouthful. "It takes me an age to get ready."

"I'm looking forward to seeing your show," he offered genuinely.

"Well save a dance for me at the after-party, Kansas. I'm calling you on it…" She blew him a kiss over her shoulder as she departed- an experience he didn't think he would ever forget.

/

"Oh god, breath in, breathe out…" Gabriella told herself as she waited backstage, her burlesque costume tight, revealing and sexy and her routine practised. All except for one small change she had made to her performance…

"#_If I didn't know better, I might have tried to hide_

_But you're there in the darkness and I don't want to slide_

_You to me are everything, my sun my moon my stars_

_Believe me when I say…I'm yours tonight….#."_

Okay, so she'd borrowed his song. She'd sang it a million times before, but never in public and now that she'd met him, she felt like tonight should be even more about the music-world's most recent addition.

Troy Bolton was getting kudos where kudos was earned but she hadn't expected him to be so darn adorable, too. She'd almost hoped his quick rise to fame had made him arrogant and cocky and sent him on the same trip she had taken, but she'd be damned if his humble-pie charm hadn't lost any of it's glean and still kept his feet firmly on the ground.

So as she slid down the extra-long pole-dancing pole and moved her body into suggestive poses, she knew that her spontaneous decision to cover his number-one selling single was possibly the best decision she had ever made. It turned his sweet-as-sugar, sentimental love song into a song of something else- a song of sexual proportions no-one else would have imagined if it weren't for her and her stripper-like performance on stage.

"_My heart beats, uh uh uh_," she bent over and bounced her backside. "_Only for you.."_

"_My heart rages like an ocean so blue_…" Her arms rose above her head, she wound her body.

"#_In your eyes I can truly see_…#" Her hands worked up her sides towards her breasts.

"#_The colour of my destiny_…#" And then she cupped them, quickly dropping her pose to stalk across the stage and wrap herself back around the pole to sing the chorus she had shared with him in the canteen.

"_#Make me...uh uh...make me a better woman_

_Oh, boy I wanna be with you every day_

_You make me wanna say in every way_

_Just what, uh, you do to me, yeah_

_Make me; make me a better woman…#"_

Her lips were red, her hair waterfalled down her back and decorated with a miniature top-hat. Her leotard was black, tight, smooth but the waistcoat sparkling, enhancing her breasts. Her shapely legs maximised in sheer black tights and buckled, platform sandals adorned her feet- a punky-sexy creation that perfectly matched her attitude. Around her wrists lay PVC buckled cuffs, around her waist a matching cinching belt. She was nothing like the girl that sat in that canteen- her eyes now darkened with fake lashes and her face made-up perfectly for the show- but what did she prefer?

She lost her thoughts as she worked the pole, the audience a blur as she performed across the stage with her dancers, the song ending in a soulful a cappella verse.

'#_Didn't know you could be mine one day_

_I never wanted it to end this way_

_I wanted all of you to be mine_

_I can't turn back the hands of time_

_So ohhhh…make me a better woman_

_Ohhh make me the kind of person I want to be_

_Ohhh wont you love me for me? _

_Ohhh…won't you love me for me...#"_

Gabriella held her breath for five seconds until the lights came down and then she ran for the edge of the stage, breathless, zinging with adrenaline and scared shitless of the reaction.

"Gabi, do you hear them?" Her equally breathless dancer, Haily asked.

"What?" She looked up, still trying to catch oxygen into her tight lungs.

"The clapping- it's so loud!" She explained and Gabi stood up straight, listening with intent ears for the sound.

"Oh my god," she awed, frowning.

"Look!" Haily pulled back the curtain and revealed the crowd- all on their feet, giving a standing ovation.

"It's not my song!" Gabi gasped, overwhelmed at the reaction to her off-the-cuff performance.

"It should be." A deeper voice broke their short celebration and Gabi looked around to see Troy stood in the wings, his Stetson back on his head and his hands awkwardly in his pockets.

She swallowed and approached him cautiously but they were both told in hushed tones by the stage manager to leave the stage so she grabbed his hand and ran backstage with him, giggling breathlessly as she skidded to a halt in the corridor.

"Your dressing room or mine?" She curled her lips up suggestively.

Troy blinked. "Yours," he offered, feeling nervous sweat sprout on his upper lip and the inside of his palms.

Gabi led him there, her stage attire a definite turn-on this close up, but he still remembered the costume-free Gabriella from before.

"You could have told me you were singing my song, Gabriella," he mused. "I'm kinda beat now."

"It's Gabi," she explained of her name as she took out the top-hat from her hair and then walked right up to him. "Did you like it?"

"I loved it," he assured huskily, the tip of his hat brushing her hair as he looked down on her.

"How much?" She enquired flirtily, running her hands up his chest- a chest he had t-shirted in black and that boasted muscles she could only imagine.

"You're tripping in a high, I'm not gonna kiss you now…" He arched his brow.

Something flicked across her eyes and she pouted. "I'm not tripping on anything, I swear."

"I have to go sing, anyway," he reminded her.

"But I'm not done with you," she whispered, tiptoeing to reach his ear. "Sing to me here…"

"And leave four million people waiting?" He smiled.

"Then _I'll _wait for you," she swayed over to her large couch and draped herself becomingly on it. "Right here."

"Promise?" He checked.

"Promise."

/

"#_What makes a beautiful woman?_

_Is it her eyes, her smile, her hair?_

_When I breathe in the scent of my woman_

_I love the beauty of her heart , oh yeah…#_"

Troy was still humming his quickly chosen alternative song as he came down from the stage and back towards Gabi's dressing room. He didn't know if he should have come back or not, but there was something about the bewitching Latina that had him intrigued and tonight was a special night. It may be his only chance to find out anything about her- before they both went their separate ways again.

"Gabi?" He knocked gently on the door and after three tries, gently twisted the handle to see if it gave, and it did, allowing him a peek inside her room.

She was there, on her sofa, only fast asleep and wearing some soft slouch pants and a vest; a sight which had him grinning from ear to ear. God she looked incredible, he mused, all soft and real, no make-up, no gimmicks.

He slipped inside and removed his hat, laying it on her dresser as he approached and crouched beside the sofa.

"Gabi?" He husked in his song-roughened voice.

"I met a cute guy, mom," she murmured in her apparent sleep and he frowned amusedly.

"A cute guy?"

"Mm his name is Kansas, Kansas Kisses."

Troy chuckled at her non-sensical mutterings and wondered what to do- should he wake her so they could talk all night? Maybe more than talk, he grinned. Should he let her sleep- she certainly seemed exhausted? Maybe he should crawl right in there with her, he wondered? God, that seemed like a great idea right now, he mused.

"Darn and hellfire," he whispered as his phone began to chime. "Hullo?" He answered it as he stood and wandered toward the door.

"Troy, it's Chad. You have to come home, dude." His best friend from Kansas said with no mention of the biggest night of his life. It still surprised him how little his friends cared about his music career.

"Why what's happened?" He asked, a little irritable at being interrupted from his rare chance at meeting a girl he actually liked.

"It's Sharpay. She's had a miscarriage."

/

Gabi woke and stretched lazily on her soft couch, frowning for a few seconds until she remembered where she was. Oh, darn. She'd fallen asleep.

But where was Troy? How much time had lapsed since she'd fallen into slumber she wondered? Had he gone without seeing her? Was he still singing?

She sat up and rubbed her face, looking up to find clues and instantly she saw the Stetson on the edge of her dresser. _He's been here, then_, she sighed.

Been and gone. Typical.

She stood and stretched again, realising she ached so badly because she didn't warm down from her routine properly, she'd merely plopped onto the sofa and invited the strong and adorable Troy with her. If only he hadn't had to perform, she cursed. He would have been hers by now.

She sucked her teeth as she realised she wasn't going to get what she wanted- not tonight at least and she headed toward his token of affection.

A small card lay in the hat band which she picked up to squint at to read.

'_Call me, 07865934567' Troy x' _

_Mm, call me_. She'd heard that before and normally she would toss the card over her shoulder and laugh at the idea of her calling anyone who happened to leave a request like that. Only she liked the idea of chasing Troy for some reason. There was something about his sparkling eyes and southern drawl that had her all itchy with attraction. She didn't like how she wanted him, she didn't even know _why _but she wanted those calloused, large hands that played guitar to play her, too. She wanted to sing with him and hear their voices meld. And surprisingly she wanted to find out how he liked to make love; a random and unjustified thought she couldn't explain.

Must be something to do with his amazingly sexy voice, she mused.

_So what to do?_ She pondered a she held the little card. To call or not to call?

/

WELL READER- YOU DECIDE! SHOULD GABI CALL TROY?


	2. Kansas Cool

Just to let you know this is just a three-parter of 'one shots'. It was only ever meant to be a one shot and then I couldn't stop writing lol ;) Hence why I also ended up posting it before 'Upside Down'.

p.s the songs are mine except those with a * which are Timothy B Shmit.

**Kansas Cool**

_This _was Kansas? Gabi mused as she stood at the airport in her skinny jeans, shoe-boots and racer back vest with a cropped leather jacket wrapped around her upper half for some kind of warmth. Truth was, it was _freezing _here.

Still, her conversation with Troy had led to a revelation of happy coincidence, that she would be in town for a shoot while he was visiting home.

Jeez, how did he stand the cold? She wondered as she dragged her suitcase haphazardly through the quiet open airport- not used to handling her own bags and definitely not used to the lack of crowds.

"Where in the hell am _I_?" She asked herself under her breath.

/

"Hey, look, it's not the end of the world…" Troy tried to comfort his oldest friend the best way he knew how, by giving her a Bolton cuddle-one that wrapped her up and held her tight in his arms as they sat in their favourite booth of their favourite café from home- Jared's Juices.

"Not to you," she sobbed, against his chest. "For me and Zeke…it's everything."

"Hey, Zeke still loves you, honey. Don't you forget that…"

"But my body is a failure!" She argued wildly. "I'm a failure."

"That's not true," he shh'd her by pressing his lips against her hair. "The doctors told you, you did nothing wrong."

"I'm glad you came back, Troy," she looked up at him tearily. "I love you."

"I love you too, Shar, I'm always here ok?"

"And you asked me to come to Kansas _why_?" A third, annoyed voice asked from behind them both, revealing Gabi to Troy as he turned.

"Gabi, you're here…" Troy shifted along the booth seat and got up, rubbing his palms on his jeans.

"Yeah I am," She folded her arms across her chest and he loved the little vision of anger before him.

"Meet my good friend, Sharpay," he turned and introduced them. "Shar, this is Gabi a friend of mine from the music business."

"_Shut_ up!" Sharpay gasped and slid along the seat to push Troy aside. "_The_ Gabriella Montez?" She ovalled her mouth. "Man-eater-Montez?"

Gabi fidgeted awkwardly under the use of her press nickname. "I'm not-"

"Ohmygod!" Sharpay pushed right past Troy to hug her, then turned to Troy. "Did you do this for me?"

"Do what?" He frowned confusedly, re-arranging his hat.

"Bring her?" Sharpay asked and Troy looked to Gabi with a bemused frown before she answered for him.

"Yeah he did," Gabi said quickly and Sharpay squealed, hugging him largely around the neck.

"You are the _best_ guy friend _ever_!" She commended and he stood awed at the fact that Gabi's presence alone had managed to wipe Sharpay's sad tears away- even if only for a few moments.

"Uh, thanks…" He answered unsurely.

"I have to tell Zeke and the others!" She chattered excitedly, nudging him again to grab her purse and she gave Gabi one more hug before she left with an excited squeal.

"It's going to take five seconds before anyone else recognises me, wanna split?" She asked him, her brown eyes wary but direct.

"I know a place we can go…"

/

"_I know a place we can go, above the stars where the shadows grow_

_There's moonlight and dancing and light in your hair_

_Come with me girl, let me show you my lair…"_

"Do you know _all _of my songs?" He marvelled as she sang his ballad back at him in teasing him of his phrase. They were in his truck, heading out of state.

"Pretty much," she shrugged.

"And yet I know none of yours…"

"I doubt they play them out here."

"You don't like Kansas, then," he guessed, sliding a look across at her in the car.

She shrugged. "It's just so darn cold."

"You should have brought a jumper."

"I kinda hoped I might have someone to keep me warm," she twinkled back at him with a warm voice and he again jolted at her come-on.

"Me and Sharpay- we're only friends." He offered and she chuckled.

"You just can't take a compliment can you?" She asked, then reached over with a playful hand and ruffled his hair that was now free from his hat.

"I've gotta say, girls round here are _not _like you." He admitted bashfully.

"Well _girls like me_ do have a reputation I guess," she mused, pursing her lips and looking out of the window.

"Tell me why," he challenged, surprising her.

"My image," she sighed, crossing her arms over her body protectively. "What I used to get up to…"

"Which was...?"

She smiled a grim smile, wondering if he should know about this so soon. Why ruin something perfectly nice before it even started? But then why start something that could so easily be ruined, anyway?

"Drugs, sex, hip hop," she grinned with no smile. "It's a crazy world."

He blinked a couple of times before he spoke again and when he did, he licked his lips quickly, in a way that had Gabi fixed on him. "Is it still that world?"

"Not really…" She looked out of the window and knew her life had changed a lot. All of her energy now went on her next performance- her next level of shocking the audience and she had to admit, she was running out of ideas.

"Why did you come to Kansas, Gabi?" His question might have seemed rude to some but she was used to it. She did have a certain distractedness about her that led people to believe she didn't care- or didn't engage in what they had to say. But she did. She just didn't focus well since...well since before.

"Because I want you, Troy Bolton. And I am going to have you."

/

It was beyond beautiful, the place he took her to. The ledge they stood on stretched a view before them that was only rivalled by heaven itself. The rock here was red, like earth and copper combined. The expanse of desert large and unfilled apart from the odd tumbleweed dotted to and fro; and the occasional bush struggling to survive in the heat of the day.

Now, after sun-down, it was getting cold and as they sat and dangled their legs off the ledge, Gabi shivered.

"Remind me never to visit again."

"Here," Troy slung off his warm sheep-skin lined jacket and wrapped it over her shoulders.

"A true gentleman," she looked across at him and smiled.

"I'm glad you came," he told her then, taking a breath. "I wanted to get to know you- away from all that."

"What if I like 'all that'?" She asked.

He shrugged. "I don't mind."

"_I don't mind  
Go ahead and be that way  
I don't mind  
__I'm happy at the end of the day…"*_

"You know a hell of a lot of country for a hip-hop singer," Troy mused with a surprised smile at her.

"Maybe it's you," she tipped over and touched her arm to his playfully, budging him.

"Maybe it's me what?" He wondered into her pretty face.

"Maybe it's you that made me like it," she suggested, tilting her face up.

"Maybe it's you I want to write about," he husked back, flicking his eyes over her face before he leaned to kiss her.

She licked her lips and pulled back. "Maybe." And with that she jumped up and headed back toward his truck, leaving him more puzzled than ever.

/

_Maybe it's you I see when I close my eyes at night_

_Maybe it's you I want to be with the rest of my life_

_Maybe I can't get you from outta under my skin_

_Tell me girl, how did you ever get in?_

"What are you writing?"

"A new song," Troy pressed his lips in and looked up to silently apologise before he spoke. "Sorry…"

"No, go ahead, I know how it is," she smiled patiently, reclining on his truck hood while he perched at the bumper and scribbled.

_Maybe I can't tell you how I feel inside_

_Maybe I'm afraid you would laugh or hide_

_Maybe one day you'll feel my love for you_

_Tell me girl would you ever be true?_

"It's good," her soft voice startled him and he turned to find her reading over his shoulder where she had slid down the hood to sit beside him. He took a shaky breath and sighed.

"It's about you."

She shrugged and smiled a little. "I'm good for something."

"What are you doing tomorrow?" He wondered

"Visiting your friend," she arched a brow, "Aren't I?"

"That would be awesome," he admitted. "But can I take you somewhere?"

"Somewhere warm?" She hoped, snuggling into his coat and he nodded. "Finish your song."

_Too many maybe's can drown out the world_

_I want you by me until we both get old_

_Please girl tell me we can be together some day_

_Don't you know that I love you this way?_

/

"Well, hello, cowboy."

Gabi stood in her apartment doorway in his Stetson, and her underwear and nothing else besides. He was there to pick her up and take her to see Sharpay but it seemed she had other ideas on her mind, first.

"Wow," he breathed at the sight of her, following her through to her living area in a dumb-founded stupor, the sight of her nearly-naked figure distracting him completely from any other thought.

She had a tiny waist, ribs he could probably fit both his hands around but her hips flared perfectly and her thighs were heavier; dancer's legs he observed from her shape. God, she was perfect. And he couldn't lay one hand on her even though she stood with the aim to seduce him- a fact that was already kicking up merry hell in his groin.

"Gabi, we can't do this," he whispered, his gaze raking over her and battling to meet her eyes.

"Sure we can," she argued easily, flinging his hat across the room and running her hands around his neck. "I want to, you want to, what's stopping us?"

"I barely know you, I don't even know-" Her finger against his lips stopped his tirade.

"Shush, cowboy," she told him, then slipped off his own hat as her hands tangled into his hair, her body rising so her mouth was aligned with his. "Just kiss me…"

Troy kissed her. He wrapped his arms around her, lifted her against his chest and kissed her deeply with all the longing he had felt the second she had opened the door to him barely dressed. Her naked curves were there for him to enjoy, she was kissing him back like there was no tomorrow and god, he lost himself for those moments while they stood there and shared their attraction.

But then she moaned beneath his kiss and writhed against his answering body and he had to do what was right- he had to break away before he took her right here on the sofa.

"What's wrong?" She asked, her lips grazing his, tempting him back into that earth-shattering kiss they just shared.

"Nothing...nothing…just," he took a deep breath and twisted his face away so that his lips brushed her hair. "Not tonight."

"Not tonight?" She frowned, confused. He didn't want her? Who did she give herself to this willingly who told her 'not tonight'?

Troy swallowed, touching her cheek with the rough pad of his thumb. "I-"

"Wow you really mean it," she dropped from her tiptoes to slide down his body, her face detailing her confusion.

"I want to know you, Gabi," he insisted, flicking his eyes between hers. "I want to make love to _you._"

"This _is _me," she stated flippantly.

"Is it?" He challenged in a soft husk and she didn't answer. "Is this the real you?"

"The real me doesn't exist anymore," she pronounced bitterly. "All I have left is this," she gestured to her nearly-naked state.

"You're wrong," he assured, watching her as she defiantly stood before him, her entire vulnerability on show to him now.

"You really do prefer the girl in sweats don't you?" She tipped her head, surprised.

He shrugged. "I can't help it, but I do."

"And I can't help that this is what I am."

/

Sharpay was getting there. She seemed to like having a purpose and having guests to coo over was the perfect past-time to keep her mind off the bad news.

Never mind the fact she treated Gabi as a mini-celebrity and fussed over her endlessly, causing Gabi to actually feel uncomfortable for once with all the attention she lavished on her.

"Honestly, there's no secret to being me," Gabi assured her as they all sat back on the curved sofa; Sharpay sitting between Zeke's thighs for comfort.

"You are just amazing," Sharpay said again.

"So is Troy," Gabi pointed out, inadvertently touching his thigh as she referred to him. As he was sat right beside her, lazily leaning back into the cushions with his arms across the back of the sofa, she didn't find it hard to turn and smile at him.

"Oh please…" Troy groaned at Gabi's unknowing compliment.

"Well, now, I'm not allowed to say how amazing our Troy is;" Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Apparently he gets shy."

Troy closed his eyes and made a face as he tipped his head back in mock pain. "Thanks Shar."

"Really?" Gabi slid back into the sofa to twist and look at him and Troy couldn't help the natural urge his fingers had to touch her shoulder.

"Let's not do this," he begged.

"Well now that you mention it, he does hate compliments…" Gabi offered to Sharpay.

"See! You can't say a nice word to him without him getting angry."

"I'm not angry!" His hands lifted to express themselves his level of non-anger.

"You kinda are…" Gabi retorted with a giggle, receiving his arm all the way around her shoulders as she grinned and he hugged her close for a second.

"You're never coming here again…" He joked.

Sharpay watched her friends with an interest smile. "You two are..?" she queried.

"Uh..." troy blanked.

"Dating," Gabi supplied for the blonde, smirking at Troy to see if he would argue, but his sparkly blue eyes met hers and curved into a smile, too.

"I guess we are."

"Guess? Wow, Troy, way to bolster the girl's ego," Sharpay joked, then to Gabi. "Don't mind him, you get used to him after a while…"

"I already am," she slid her hand down his leg suggestively, making Troy jolt at the contact.

"I'll get it in the neck later," he joked along, wondering just what game plan Gabi was playing to. She seemed determined to seduce him and it wasn't like he didn't want it to happen because he did-oh god he wanted it to happen really badly. But she was the first girl he had met since making it big that made his heart hammer and his body stiffen and damn it if he wasn't a virgin and he had no idea how to make love to a woman…

"And a lot more besides," she murmured into his ear, heading out with Sharpay to fetch dessert.

"You look like a man who's been pinned to the ground by a bronco," Zeke commented from across the room now that the ladies had left.

"That's weird cos that's kinda how I feel…"

"Don't chase her, bro. Just let her ride it out," he advised.

"I barely know the girl!" Troy admitted in a fast sigh out. "But how I feel when I'm with her is…"

Troy paused, letting out a sigh when his words couldn't describe the feeling he experienced and he looked up to his friend for help.

"Them's the best ones." Zeke nodded with a large smile.

"You and Shar?" Troy checked with a squint.

"At the start, yeah, I was a little…overwhelmed. But man, once I let her take control, everything was sweet, dude. I promise."

"I don't think I have much choice _but _to let her take control," Troy mused to himself as the girls came back in, Gabi choosing to sit on his lap to feed him the chocolate mousse Sharpay had made.

"Like it?" She wondered, taking her own mouthful.

"It's delicious, but can I feed myself. I feel-" His sentence was stopped short by another spoonful of mousse. "…Un-masculine," he finished on a sigh.

"Sharpay, dinner was amazing," Gabi told his friend as she stood from his lap. "But we're…y'know," she winked.

"Oh, take the spare mousse with you," Sharpay offered quickly, knowingly, causing Troy to sit with his mouth wide open in shock.

"We're not going to-" He began but was cut off by his friend.

"Troy you don't have to be shy around us," Sharpay giggled. "Just get out of here, already."

He stood with some chagrin and looked to Gabi with a tight smile. "Nice work, Montez."

"Oh don't be silly," Sharpay got up and hugged them both. "Have a great night, see you soon."

"Sure…" Troy trailed out, still in shock as he stood on the sidewalk and looked to Gabi. "Now what?"

"What do _you_ think, cowboy?"


	3. Kansas Calling

Hey all, thank you for comments, glad you liked this impromptu three-shot! Upside Down is up next!

Songs with a * by Fergie, Timothy B Shmit and Bryan Adams. Other by me.

**Kansas Calling**

_*Hold on, let's end this conversation__  
__We need to take a break and I don't want to fight__  
__I've had a minor revelation__  
__Let's deal with it later__  
__'Cuz it's Friday night_

_All week, we've been working so hard  
Now it's time to kick back and set our sights  
We can make it pretty simple  
Put it on the backburner  
It's a Friday night_

_Feel that warm breeze floating through the window  
Sure do like it this way  
Something tells me this is the way to go  
And I've got a few things to say_

_Slip into your best dress  
Paint your lips red  
Open up your blue eyes  
Forget the things we said_

_I could be your lover  
You can shine the light  
Let's fire up the candle  
It's a Friday night_

Troy had never had to 'get out' of having sex before. He'd never had to explain himself or make excuses because well, he'd never let it get that far before. But now that he stood, touching his fingers to Gabi's face as they both looked into each other's eyes, both in their underwear, both panting and both buzzing with passion and need; now he had to think of something. And fast.

"Gabi, I can't do this," he whispered, kissing her mouth with another slow, tender kiss that belied his words, but then he wrapped her close.

"Why?" She wondered, figuring she should be hurt that he didn't want her, only she knew from the press of his arousal that he did.

"I…I…" He swallowed and pulled back, meeting her gaze.

"What Troy?" She asked softly, her brown eyes questioning. "What is it?"

"I'm a virgin," he told her finally, sighing out with the weight of his confession. "I've never made love with anybody before."

"Wh-" Gabi opened her mouth and then closed it, quickly adjusting to his announcement. "Wow, okay."

"I'm sorry I should have told you before," he closed his eyes and winced. "Before it got to this, but I wanted you to know…that's why I can't…"

"Are you waiting for someone?" She wondered and he grinned a sexy smile.

"You."

"But I'm ready…"

"I still don't know how you like your coffee and what you have on your waffles…" He tried to explain.

"As if that matters when we…" She smiled seductively, running her hands over his backside.

He swallowed. "It matters to me."

"Is this a country thing?" She wondered suddenly.

Troy shrugged. "I guess."

"Humph," she blew out a frustrated breath and looked up to him. "What now?"

"Stay the night," he asked in his husk.

"Really? You wanna do that snuggle and share shit?" She mused with a roll of her eyes.

"You don't?"

She looked to him and began to sing.

"_Come here, rude boy, boy; can you get it up?  
Come here rude boy, boy; is you big enough?  
Take it, take it baby, baby  
Take it, take it; love me, love me_"

"That's the world I come from," she reminded him._  
_

Troy squinted his eyes. "Nothing more?"

__Gabi smiled. _"Tonight I'ma let you be the captain, Tonight I'ma let you do your thing, yeah…"_

And with that she picked up his t-shirt and tugged it on, leading the way to his room.

/

_Hold on, let's end this conversation__  
__We need to take a break and I don't want to fight__  
__I've had a minor revelation__  
__Let's deal with it later__  
__'Cuz it's Friday night_

_All week, we've been working so hard  
Now it's time to kick back and set our sights  
We can make it pretty simple  
Put it on the backburner  
It's a Friday night_

_Feel that warm breeze floating through the window  
Sure do like it this way  
Something tells me this is the way to go  
And I've got a few things to say_

_Slip into your best dress  
Paint your lips red  
Open up your blue eyes  
Forget the things we said_

_I could be your lover  
You can shine the light  
Let's fire up the candle  
It's a Friday night_

"What are you singing?" Gabi wondered sleepily as she opened her eyes to Troy's acoustic performance in his room- his guitar in his hands and his space in the bed empty where he'd risen to play.

"Timothy B Shmit, but you knew that," he smiled across at her, half naked and ruffled from sleep.

She propped up onto an elbow. "Get back in here so I can snuggle you properly," she complained. "This was _your _idea after all…"

"Come snuggle me here," he grinned, receiving a pillow to his head. "Ah, alright then…"

Troy climbed back into the bed and accepted Gabi's body to his, letting out a sigh. "I'm gonna sing it on Sunday at the St Jude's church performance."

"You can't sing that song in church!" Gabi laughed. "It's about sex!"

"It's about making love," he counter-acted. "It's about appreciating what you have."

Gabi merely smirked. "Sing the rest of the song," she demanded.

"Gabi…"

"Seriously, sing it," she begged.

"_Let's go look for hidden treasure  
I wanna dig it up while the moon is bright  
No more living under pressure  
Gotta see your eyes sparkle  
It's a Friday night_

_Roll that big world right off your shoulders  
I will try to do the same  
If we don't act now, we'll simply grow older  
Another faded picture in a frame_

_Button off your blue jeans  
Tumble down your hair  
Take a look around  
We can do it anywhere_

_You can be my princess  
I'll be what you like  
Let's run around the palace  
It's a Friday night"_

"I mean, really, you're gonna sing that?" She checked. "Button off your jeans?"

"Alrighty, I'll think of something else."

"You should sing that song to me," she smiled, leaning up on his chest to look into his face.

"I don't think you need any encouragement to button off your jeans," he teased with a sexy smile, leaning up to kiss her, taking her into his arms as he did so.

"Let's make waffles with maple syrup and cream," she told him as she pulled away.

/

"Why are you smiling like that?"

Troy had to admit, he did have _the_ biggest inane grin on his face as they sat and ate messy waffles and drank creamy, sugary coffee at his dining table.

"Because I found out how you like your waffles _and _how you like your coffee all in one morning," he shared with his soft twang, his eyes alight.

Gabi arched her brow. "Does that mean we can play now?"

Troy looked at her expectant face and wondered, for once second, if that was all she about.

"Would it even mean anything to you if I said yes?" he tested.

"Sure," she smiled felinely. "It would mean we get to have some fun- at last," she added.

"Wow," he smiled sadly and looked down.

"Wow, what?" She asked.

"I guess I thought we might be more than that…I guess I thought you coming to Kansas meant more…"

Gabi looked up at him and felt a pang inside. Of _course _it meant something to her. Of _course _she wanted more. She just didn't know what- because she'd never had the chance to do this before. She'd never had anyone want to know her before.

"I never pretended." She said as if this explained everything.

"So now you just go? Just like that?" He wondered as she uncurled from her previously relaxed tucked-up position in her chair.

"Well _this _isn't going to work is it?" she argued. "I just wanted some fun."

"And I'm not fun," he muttered to himself, nodding with realisation as she passed by him toward the stairs.

"You could've kept me warm, cowboy," she arched. "But you're looking for someone in me who doesn't exist."

"What if I want you as you are?" he asked as he twisted and looked over at her, drowned by his tee-top, small and beautiful in her vulnerability.

"Then you should've had me."

/_Two months later…_

"Hey bro, is it startin' yet?" Zeke called out from the kitchen of his apartment, the smell of warm popcorn radiating out with him as he stuck his head out of the door.

"It's just the titles!" Troy called back, fingering some of the warm, sweet kernels Zeke had already made into his mouth. "Bring the salt we'll make it in here!" He added.

They were both settling down for the MOBO awards, a ceremony at which Gabi was confirmed to be performing. A ceremony which Troy had been invited to and declined for fear of seeing her; for fear of how she would make him feel if he saw her in the flesh.

At least at home; or Sharpay's home, he amended silently; he could hide safely and still watch her in the way that he secretly craved to. Things had been left unsaid. Things had ended before they'd started and he wondered who she was with now: who she was sleeping with.

If only he was man enough to take her the way his body had begged him to. If only his heart didn't fall so hard every time he met a girl like her.

"_The smell of your skin lingers on me now  
You're probably on your flight back to your home town  
I need some shelter of my own protection baby  
To be with myself instead of calamity  
Peace, Serenity_…"

"Oh my god, she's singing!" Sharpay interjected as the curtains peeled back to reveal Gabriella sitting on the edge of a C-shaped moon, microphone in hand, her body clad in a long, tight silver sparkled dress that slit right up the thigh and dangled at her bare feet.

"Why wouldn't she be singing?" Troy grizzled beside her, shoving more popcorn in his mouth to ease his gritted jaw.

"She's hip-hop," Sharpay made a face as if he should know that.

"_I hope you know, I hope you know  
That this has nothing to do with you  
It's personal, Myself and I  
We've got some straightenin' out to do  
And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket  
But I've got to get a move on with my life  
Its time to be a big girl now  
And big girls don't cry  
Don't cry  
Don't cry  
Don't cry_…"

"Oh god, Troy, listen to the words," Sharpay looked up at him.

"I can hear," he murmured softly, his eyes fixed to the long train of black curls that ran over one of her shoulders- her deep v-necked gown promising small mounds under the revealing neckline._  
_  
"_The path that I'm walking  
I must go alone  
I must take the baby steps until I'm full grown  
Fairytales don't always have a happy ending, do they  
And I foresee the dark ahead if I stay_

I hope you know, I hope you know  
That this has nothing to with you  
It's personal, Myself and I  
We've got some straightenin' out to do  
And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket  
But I've got to get a move on with my life  
Its time to be a big girl now  
And big girls don't cry

Like the little school mate in the school yard  
We'll play jacks and uno cards  
Ill be your best friend and you'll be mine  
Valentine  
Yes you can hold my hand if u want to  
Cause I want to hold yours too  
Well be playmates and lovers and share our secret worlds  
But its time for me to go home  
Its getting late, dark outside  
I need to be with myself instead of calamity  
Peace, Serenity…"

"Jeez," he sighed and dipped his head, having no doubt in his mind that she was singing this song to him; about her regrets, about how she felt.

"She likes you, Troy," Sharpay offered hopefully. "See, I knew it!"

"Why the hell didn't I go?" He kicked himself. "I should be there, I should be-"

"_I hope you know, I hope you know  
That this has nothing to do with you  
It's personal, Myself and I  
We've got some straightenin' out to do  
And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket  
But I've got to get a move on with my life  
Its time to be a big girl now  
And big girls don't cry  
Don't cry  
Don't cry  
Don't cry._" *

Sharpay rose and picked up her wireless extension and took it over to Troy. "Call her now."

"She's on stage!"

"I don't care; leave her a voicemail or something!"

"I don't know what to s-"

"Hey!" Zeke interrupted them both. "She's talking, hush down…"

"So Gabriella, it's great to have you here tonight. Thank you for opening the show; you were amazing as always…" The male host opened the interview.

Gabi smiled gracefully. "A little low-key for me," she teased.

"I don't think we're used to hearing that singing voice of yours, so extraordinary! Is there anyone out there tonight you were singing to?" The host hinted.

Gabi smiled in recognition of the prompt. "Yeah, Kansas, wherever you are, it's for you." She spoke out to the crowd.

"As in Kansas Kisses?" The host questioned, "Troy Bolton the country star?"

"He knows who he is," Gabi winked, keeping his identity a mystery.

"Well, he is one lucky guy. I hope he's home waiting for you tonight or I might come back stage later for you myself…" The host segued into patter about the next performance as Troy sat and stared at the phone, eventually letting his fingers trail over the familiar digits.

"Ah…Gabi? It's me. I mean, it's Troy. I guess you knew I'd call…I guess…we need to talk, is that ok? Will you call me?" He ended the message and laid the handset back into his lap.

"Everything ok, buddy?" Zeke asked, placing a comforting hand to his shoulder.

"Yeah," Troy looked up. "Everything is fine."

/

"So, you missed the MOBO's," Gabi stood outside his New York apartment and cocked her hip. Her jeans were low-slung, her top tied at her ribs baring her midriff and she had on some toeless heels that had studs on them.

"Well, I _am _no fun," Troy teased, widening the door for her to come inside.

"I don't know," she said as she walked by him and then turned to wink over her shoulder. "You're pretty fun."

"I'm glad you came…" He hedged, following her inside and pocketing his hands.

"You saw it, then," she said, her voice soft for the very first time and he looked to her, wondering if it were real.

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world."

Something like sadness flitted across her face. "I kinda hoped you might be there."

"Well, I was a being a jack-ass thinking I didn't want to see you," he regretted with a wry twist of his lips.

"No, _I _was the jackass," she amended, coming closer. "For ever saying those things."

"You've changed," he squinted.

"No, I'm still the same," her feline smile flashed back. "I just decided some people deserved the real me."

"And I'm one of them?" He asked.

"You're the only one," she shared with a hopeful one-sided smile as she looked up to him.

Troy swallowed. "Did you get my present?"

Gabi's smiled widened and she lifted up her ring finger to show him the gold band he'd sent her. "I did."

"And you think you want that?" He checked.

She shrugged. "I've always wanted you, Kansas. It was just a matter of time before I let myself have you."

"Are you okay? Did something happen?"

She turned her lips down, staring into his chest. "Not really."

"You just don't give anything away, do you," he asked, but not accusingly.

She smirked and looked up. "Is that a problem?"

He sighed, touching her cheek with his thumb before he wrapped her close, his arms tight around her body as his chin touched her head. "Not for me."

Gabi hugged her arms around his middle in return and let herself relax there, until she had to move.

"So what do you say, Kansas?" She irked a brow. "Shall we play?"

/

His kisses down her throat her accompanied his hands at her waist, his thumbs softly brushing, his hard body rubbing hers as he bent to reach her collarbone with his lips.

"Troy," she gasped and looked up, her dark eyes alive with passion, her lips swollen with his kiss.

"I'm ready," he murmured, telling her he wanted this as much as she did.

She framed his face with her hands and kissed him for a long moment. "Tonight," was all she said as she led him to her room.

/

"_Tonight the stars were bright and the night was right for us_

_Tonight you took my heart and from the start I saw us_

_Tonight you needed me, tonight I wanted you, tonight it all came true…._

_Tonight…tonight…tonight our dreams flew the galaxy of time_

_Tonight…tonight…tonight you took my hand showed me how to be a man and it all began…_

_**To-night, uh, it all came real**_

_**So what's the deal, did you take my hand?**_

_**To-night, yo, I saw your smile**_

_**I felt your heart, beat; beat next to mine**_

_**So what are we? **_

_**Are we real?**_

_**Do we have a deal?**_

_**Did it all come true?**_

_Tonight you have to trust in me, let us be free and fly away_

_Tonight I'll take your hand, make a stand, be the man you need_

_Tonight you wanted me, tonight I needed you, tonight let it be true…_

_Tonight…tonight…tonight our dreams sparkled among the stars_

_Tonight…tonight…tonight I took your hand showed you you're a woman and it all began…_

_**To-night uh, oh yeah it's real**_

_**You took my hand, I felt your smile**_

_**To-night, yeah, you were my prince**_

_**I made the deal, I was your princess**_

_**So we are free**_

_**We are real**_

_**You're everything**_

_**My everything…**_

_Tonight…tonight…tonight I take your hand and ask you am I your man?_

_Tonight ..Tonight…tonight I want you by side for the rest of time…_

_**Tonight you are my man and I understand the reason why**_

_**Tonight, you are my one true love, my light above, my love, my love.**_

_**Tonight…tonight…tonight we fell in love **_

_**We soared up above**_

_**Tonight…tonight…tonight I took your hand**_

_**Told you who I am**_

_**And it all came real, it all came real**_

_**Tonight."**_

"I can't breathe…" Gabi whispered as Troy rose from his seated position with his guitar and he came beside her to grasp her hand in his, echoing their heart-felt song, waiting for the crowd's reaction together- waiting for their acceptance.

"I think they liked it," Troy leaned down to murmur in her ear as the auditorium rose to their feet also, to give a standing ovation for their performance.

Gabi let out a big sigh and smiled up at him with teary eyes. "We did it, Kansas."

"You did it, princess," he smiled back at her until the lights dropped, signalling their exit from the stage.

"Great job, guys!" Haily beamed as she waited backstage for Gabi to come off.

Gabi ran right into her hug and wriggled excitedly. "Oh my god"

"You were amazing!" Haily re-affirmed and Gabi smiled over her shoulder to the quiet half of the partnership she formed with Troy.

"Don't forget Kansas," Gabi grabbed his hand and pulled him closer.

Haily smiled at him, too. "You did great, Troy."

"Thank you," he smiled shyly and tipped his head down so that his Stetson covered his blush.

"You guys look amazing together," Haily added with a proud smile, then gave her excuses to go, leaving them alone.

"Your dressing room or mine?" Gabi asked with a little feline smile as she looked back up at her partner in crime.

Troy squinted. "Mine, it's closer."

/

The party was rocking. The DJ was on it, the guests dancing hard, the atmosphere buzzing and Gabi relished the chance the twist her body the way she loved to- sexily, in skimpy shorts and a lace body suit that fitted her curves perfectly.

She looked around, checking for her man, not seeing him in immediate sight.

"He's up there," Sharpay called across to her, bringing Gabi's gaze up to Troy's friend, realising she was referring to the open-plan den-room that Troy had tagged as his 'music room'.

Right now as she looked up the twisting stairs, she could see him sat on the edge of the large slouch couch, strumming his guitar and she smiled affectionately at him.

"He never did like parties," she smiled and turned to weave through the crowd toward her target.

/

"_Just a small town girl in the city lights_

_The best was yet to come_

_Then lonely days turned to endless nights_

_The best was yet come…" *_

"That's stealing," Gabi remarked as she climbed up to the den and stood before Troy with her hands on her hips.

"I'm not stealing it," he defended with a lazy smile. "I'm just…using it for inspiration."

"You're missing the party," she reprimanded lightly.

Troy blinked regretfully. "Am I being rude?"

"No," she pursed her lips and moved forward to take the guitar from his hands, straddling his thighs to replace herself with his instrument. "You're just being you."

Troy smiled and ran his hands up and down her thighs before resting them against her bare skin. "Do you want me to come down and dance?"

"I don't know," she smirked. "I kinda like it here…"

He grinned back, flinging his long hair from his eyes. "I kinda like you being here."

"If I'm interrupting your work…" she offered.

His fingers tickled her skin. "I can handle it," he assured.

"Need any help?"

"Just this," he leaned forward to kiss her, feeling her body respond to his as their tongues met and melded.

"You just had to start something, didn't'cha?" She teased breathily as her bright eyes met his.

Troy grinned and pushed his Stetson onto her head, leaving her pursing her mouth.

"Thanks, Kansas."

"I want to see you in this again," he explained as he stood, about to lead her back to their room. "Only this," he added as he linked their fingers and kissed her softly before he led the way.

/


End file.
